Why are hotel rooms so inviting?

Imagine arriving at a beautiful hotel room. It’s clean, nicely decorated and there’s no clutter. There’s the perfect amount of toiletries in the bathroom, the towels perfectly white and fluffy, the bed beautifully made and inviting.

Why is it that we love to stay in hotel rooms? And why is it that it seems so hard to recreate the feeling at home?

There is definitely something very wonderful about the peace that you can get when you arrive in a hotel room and I think it comes from two places.

The first is that you are (usually) away from the everyday pressures of life. Certainly when I’m staying in a hotel, there may be the children around, but the dogs and horses and work just aren’t. Even though these things bring me a lot of joy, even joyful things can be hard work. The day to day pressures of cleaning and cooking are also gone.

The second is the lack of clutter in a hotel room/holiday apartment. Generally they have just the right amount of “stuff” in them for you to enjoy without being overwhelmed.

Obviously we can’t spend our entire life on holiday and I know that I wouldn’t want to either – my life would be much poorer without my animals and also without my “things”. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t bring some of that feeling home with us.

I aim for my home to feel like a sanctuary, somewhere I retreat to after being out in the world. My bedroom has very little clutter in it – the clothes all fit into the wardrobes and the bedside tables are clear of tottering piles of books and receipts. My bathroom has a spa feel with clear surfaces. Through it all, I bring touches of things that I love and that bring me joy. It’s not meant to be a minimalist masterpiece, but a comfortable space that I can relax into at the end of the day.

How to do this? Declutter by choosing positively what to keep in your home. Feel overwhelmed? Just start small – it is amazing what you can do when you take one step at a time.

Where could you start today?